Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Roping and Riding.....

Who doesn't love a good rodeo, especially if you live in TEXAS.

Yesterday morning, I was in charge of the biggest rodeo of the day.....Oh yes, a lot of roping and riding was sure taking place.....

As of late last week, my 81 year old dad {Who is battling dementia / Alzheimer's} is no longer suppose to drive.....This is so very difficult for him to understand.  After all, in his mind, he drives better now than he ever has!!!

Now, for the rest of the story.....

February 14th....Valentines day, but also my nieces birthday....She (Tammy) had an early morning Doctors appointment yesterday morning and since she and now my dad  are unable to drive, it was up to me to make sure that she got to her appointment.

At the same time, I was to have Mylee at her school, which was located on the other side of town....I worked on this and had it all figured out...I would take Tammy the doctor's office, drop her off, drive across town, drop Mylee off and then come back to pick Tammy up!  Hey, this would work for all of us.

AND THEN.....I had this wonderful thought....I would ask my dad to join us for the ride!!  Little did I know that the "Rodeo" was fixing to begin.....

He decided that he would go along for the ride, and mind you, I had already told him that it would be 1:30 before we would get home.  

My intentions were.....to take the two of them (my dad and my niece) to lunch, in order to celebrate Tammy's birthday.  The timing would have worked out great for us to grab something to eat and then be back to pick Mylee up from school....

After the 10th time of my dads constant looking at his watch and commenting that he should have stayed home, I gently placed my hand on his arm and explained to him, that he had already shared those feelings with me 10 times and that he just needed to enjoy the company and the ride....In the mean time, I was very busy trying to keep a rope wrapped around my tongue, if you know what I mean!  

It takes a lot of patience and a big rope wrapped around my tongue to keep me from having any outburst or screaming fits, when dealing with repeated questions....

Honestly speaking here, within 2 minutes, we were engaged in the same conversation again....At this point, I decided that perhaps it would be best if I took him home.....Back to Chandler we came and I had him home in time to watch "The Price Is Right!"

He was just as happy as could be!

This morning....I have already had a call from him ....seems he needs a haircut TODAY!

Oh yea.....I see many more Rodeo's ahead of me, and I'm sure there will be a lot of roping and riding!

I am thankful that God is allowing me the time to walk side by side with my dad....It is my job to look for the daily joys in this journey....


Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your 
way, let it be an opportunity for joy. 
For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a 
chance to grow.  
James 1: 2-3

Let's all have a great day....

Shug ~




12 comments:

  1. This is not easy to deal with. Both my Dad and later my Mother-in-law had dementia.
    With my Dad i found that the best thing was just to talk along with whatever was on his mind and repeat the story as often as necessary,This resulted in less frustration for him.It certainly stretched my patience as well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Shug
    What a special lady you are! I'm sure you will be drawing on every
    fiber of patience you can muster with your father.I'll pray for an extra dose for you, dear lady.
    Blessings-Kimberly

    ReplyDelete
  3. We have this situation in my family too. It really isn't easy to deal with.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Shug, I KNOW! I went through all this with my grandmother. She would list off her relatives and loved ones over and over, asking me which were dead and which were alive. During her repeats, it was hard for me to keep from crying, but I didn't want her to know how bad things were. Yo are so kind and gentle with your dad... he is really blessed to have you. You are keeping your head even when you have so much on you and are responsible for so many people. I hope you always manage to get time for yourself every day. I love your new header!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I hear ya loud and clear Honey, I have the same problem with my MIL who has Alzheimer. It's just a new world for her one minute to the next.

    It's hard to have the same conversation sixty times in sixty minutes. {{{SIGH}}}

    Seems our best laid plans backfire often in these circumstances.

    God bless ya sweetie, your a jewel.

    Breathe in....breathe out......

    ahhhhhhhh. :o)

    ReplyDelete
  6. you are a good daughter , I have been in your shoes, mine are gone now, both parents,, I would give anything for those days back, well not all of them but once in a while.

    ReplyDelete
  7. It is a hard road that you are on now - you are a sweetheart to your dad. sandie

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi There, Just stopping by to say HI.... Hope you had a great Valentine's Day. We had a great trip--but it's nice to get home. I'm trying to catch up on some blog posts...

    I'm so sorry about your Dad. It hurts so bad when one of our loved ones' minds doesn't work well anymore... Bless Your heart... I know that it's not easy for you.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  9. Extremely challenging. I'm sending you big {{HUGS}} for being a wonderful daughter, Shug!! blessings ~ tanna

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sounds like you did great! Reminds me of the years when I said that I didn't really like the name "mom" as it was repeatedly yelled over and over and over!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh Shug! sounds like you have a lot to deal with - your dad is so fortunate to have you - but I'm sure the same is true the other way around! Happy driving!!
    Mary x

    ReplyDelete
  12. You are a good daughter. These kindnesses do not go unrewarded. Have a good day. Hugs and blessings...Mary

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for Blessing me today with your comments...

Easter Dessert

  No-Bake Strawberry Crunch  Cheesecake! I think I will.....I think this is the perfect dessert for my Easter Lunch! I mean seriously ..... ...